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PLAYFAIR CEO, Petra Playfair, has joined an illustrious group of NSW entrepeneurs in Telstra Business Women’s Awards as a 2017 Finalist in the category of Entrepreneur of the Year.

Petra Playfair started her career as a social worker specialising in cross-cultural casework, and global migration. After being awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship, she became passionate about creating an inclusive and multicultural Australia, setting up PLAYFAIR Visa and Migration Services in 1988. Every year, Petra and her team of migration agents help thousands of migrants secure humanitarian, private and corporate visas making PLAYFAIR one of Australia’s leading migration advisers, both at a policy and client level. Through her entrepreneurial spirit and ability to predict and adapt to rapid changes in migration policy and law, increasingly underpinned by technology, Petra pursued her mission to humanise, mobilise and globalise people movement, realising her long-held dream to run a global business in this field.

Petra said: “I am passionate that my work contributes to an inclusive and multicultural Australia while enabling our clients to commence a new life in our ‘land of opportunity’. An accolade like the Telstra Business Women’s Award says as much about my amazing team and the wonderful work they do as it does about me.”

On Tuesday 18 April 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced significant reforms to the current employer (skilled) immigration framework.

In progressive stages, the ‘Temporary Skills Shortage’ (TSS) visa will be introduced and will be comprised of 2 streams:

Short Term Visa: 2 year visa, with a 2 year renewal option and no pathway to permanent residence through employment.

Medium Term Visa: 4 year visa, with pathway to permanent residence after 3 years of employment with the same sponsor, in the same position as a TSS holder.

According to the joint media release from the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the changes have been designed to ensure that Australian workers are given the absolute first priority for jobs and to strengthen the training obligations for employers sponsoring foreign skilled workers and to strengthen the integrity and quality of migrants through a decrease of the age of eligibility for permanent residence, increased English language requirements and mandatory police checks. Lastly, restrictions are applied to certain occupations to ensure only “high-need” occupations are fulfilled through caveats.

Please find below, the comparative table of the two new visa options.

Comparative Table Short vs Medium Term Visa

Please see a list of useful resources, published by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection below;

Current Uncertainties

There are a number of proposed changes which have been announced, but have not been substantiated, as legislation, regulation and policy documents have not yet been published.

The current uncertainties pertain to the following issues:

Proposed changes to the training requirement for Standard Business Sponsors, and the introduction of the new training fund

Proposed review of the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT)

Parameters of the “grandfathering provisions” and pathways to permanent residence for current subclass 457 visa holders

Extent of changes to the occupation lists bi-annually

Renewal options for 2 year 457s offshore

Timeline of Skilled Migration Changes

Timeline – When do the skilled migration changes come into effect?

Trigger factors

If affected by one of the following trigger factors, you should contact PLAYFAIR immediately in order to explore your opportunities to remain in Australia.

Situations in which a Registered Migration Agent should be contacted immediately.

Given the nature of the changes, and the implications they may have on you – especially in relation to pathways to permanent residence – we provide the following options to re-strategize your immigration pathway in Australia: information sessions in Sydney and Melbourne and one-on-one consultations.

If you are concerned about your future visa pathways – give us a call and make a consultation appointment with us and we will advise you on your personal most suitable visa option.

The High Court takes an orthodox approach on the requirements of procedural fairness in extraordinary circumstances

On 27th July 2016 the High Court handed down its decision as to whether a serious data breach amounted to denial of procedural fairness for Applicant SSZJS, a Bangladeshi national and SZTZI, a Chinese National who were seeking asylum in Australia. In a unanimous decision the High Court allowed the appeal of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and found that there was no denial of procedural fairness to these asylum seekers. Continue Reading…

July 1, 2016 / Comments Off on Introduction of new visa pathway for innovative entrepreneurs

“It is critical for Australia’s prosperity and growth that we not only tap into the best entrepreneurial minds in Australia, but we also make it easier for talent from overseas to contribute to this country’s innovative future” – Christopher Pyne, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science

February 11, 2016 / Comments Off on Migration Amendment (Charging for a Migration Outcome) Act 2015

Background

On 30 November 2015, the Migration Amendment (Charging for a Migration Outcome) Act 2015 received Royal Assent and came into effect of that date. The Bill introduced new criminal and civil penalties and visa cancellation provisions were introduced as part of a framework that allows for sanctions to be imposed on a person who asks for, receives, offers or provides a benefit in return for a visa sponsorship or employment (that requires visa sponsorship)(otherwise known as a ‘sponsorship-related event’).

It will be a criminal offence for a sponsor or other third party to ask for or receive a benefit from a sponsorship related event and will be punishable by a maximum of 2 years imprisonment or a fine equivalent to $64,000 for an individual person or $324,000 for a body corporate.

What happened? The Full Bench of the High Court held by majority that Plaintiff M68 was not entitled to a declaration that her detention on Nauru was unlawful to the extent that the government participated in the clients detention. The case of Plaintiff M68 was championed by Daniel Webb of the Australian Human Rights Centre. Although the plaintiff was a single person he says that if this declaration was made it would have struck “at the core of the current arrangements” as it would have effectively declared the detention of most detainees on Nauru unlawful. Continue Reading…

Section 91W was incorporated into the Migration Act in 2001 and enhanced in 2015. The stated objective of this legislation is to assist the decision maker in establishing the applicant’s identity, nationality or citizenship. A decision maker must refuse an application where this requirement is not fulfilled. The Migration Amendment (Protection and Other Measures) Act 2015 came into effect on 18 April 2015. This allows a Minister or an officer to request that an applicant for a protection visa produce documentary evidence of their identity, nationality or citizenship for inspection. This request may be made either orally or in writing.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne has promised to open the jobs market to more foreign students who have graduated from Australian universities, as a means of rehabilitating the stagnant $14 billion international education industry.